


A World Lost to the Sun

by FrogDadUntitled



Series: The Sealed Family AU [2]
Category: Gravity Falls, Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: Adult Dipper Pines and Mabel Pines, Bill Cipher has ADHD, Bill Cipher has Antisocial Personality Disorder, Canon Divergence - Weirdmageddon, Family Dynamics, Gen, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Genderqueer Character, Good Bill Cipher, He/They Pronouns for Ford Pines, Manipulative Bill Cipher, Neopronouns, Post-Weirdmageddon, They/Them Pronouns for Dipper Pines, They/Them Pronouns for The Vessels (Hollow Knight), Tiefling Bill Cipher, Tiefling Racism, Xe/Xyr/They/He/She Pronouns for Bill Cipher, what happened with weirdmageddon will be explained
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-18 14:00:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 6,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29244711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrogDadUntitled/pseuds/FrogDadUntitled
Summary: The living family of the Pale King fly beyond their home to see space, and get trapped above ground where the sun can see them. A place called Gravity Falls, OregonI will explain the whole Bill Cipher thing later but just the jist: Bill Cipher is an ADHD Antisocial Tiefling Sorcerer who's ancestor/dad (I guess) caused Weirdmaggedon and called himself Bill to spite his magical descendant.One other thing: In the timeline of Sealed Family, this is after Hollow has created the new government system and has been in place for a few years.
Relationships: Bill Cipher & Dipper Pines & Ford Pines & Mabel Pines & Stan Pines, Broken Vessel | Lost Kin & The Hollow Knight | Pure Vessel & Hornet & The Knight, Dipper Pines & Ford Pines & Mabel Pines & Stan Pines
Series: The Sealed Family AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2147322
Comments: 2
Kudos: 28





	1. Chapter 1

“Where are we?” Hornet asks as Hollow leads them higher and higher through Hallow Nest. She hasn’t been to this area, it’s drab and cold and grey here.  _ Howling Cliffs. Highest part of Hallow Nest. _ Ghost answers as they climb. They just reached their first molt, and no longer need to jump to reach most ledges. Hornet feels almost proud.

Hollow  _ was _ proud, though. And said it many times. Like the true older sibling that they like to be. Kind, passionate. And willing to have a family trip where they just climb for an hour. 

They reach the highest platform, Hollow stopping and looking back at their family. Kin is firmly attached to Ghost, not wanting to accidentally fall down on their way up. Hornet looks annoyed, but they guess it’s because they said she couldn’t use her silk to zip up here. 

Unfurling their translucent wings, Hollow gestures for Ghost and Hornet to hold onto them. They want their siblings to see the beautiful space above the clouds. Once Hollow’s siblings have a firm hold upon them, they fly. Higher and higher and higher until they escape the monotone fog and fly up, closer to the iridescent blackness above them. 

At least, until something hits their side and they spiral away into the dirt.


	2. Hearts Made of Void and Minds Made of Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Pines Twins and Bill had gone to see the crater that Ford recently found in the forest. But when a large figure bursts out of the fog-filled hole, Bill throws a tree into them. Oops?

"You do know Ford might kill me for being around you two, right?" Bill mentions as he follows the twins to the new landmark in the forest.

"Just because your dad is a giant evil demon doesn't mean you are!" Mabel turns around and smiles at the tiefling, who's tail flicks at the mention of his father. "Also, you haven't even tried to kill us!" She giggles at that and forges ahead.

Before Bill can say "that's not what I meant", Dipper falls in stride with him. "She knows. But seriously dude, you're our friend. We aren't going to _not_ drag you to see a possibly-magical hole!" Bill smiles at that. He likes having friends who will drag him to possibly-magical places and not be up to something. 

They continue their trek into the forest, sometimes having to stop so that one of the group can study something. Usually common wildlife, but as they get closer, the fauna disappears. They all walk into a clearing about 500 feet in diameter. It's almost astounding that no one has found this pit before. And in the center, there it lays. Bill's skin prickles as he gets closer, the markings on his ram-esque horns glowing gently at the magic filling the air. His tail twitches every few seconds at the power _seeping_ out of this hole.

"Uh, guys?" He calls out to the twins, who are carefully gazing into the depths. There seems to be a grey fog filling the entire crater, keeping them from seeing beyond maybe 2 feet. As the seconds tick by, Bill feels something resonate through his very core. Something powerful, and as the descendant of the demon who made Weirdma-fucking-geddon, that is dangerous. The fog stirs and swirls as the _thing_ rises. And a black form rises high above the fog, and Bill slams a tree into it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope y'all enjoyed :) the first few chapters are gonna be short haha.... And just explanation: Tieflings are humanoids with Infernal (or demon) blood in their veins. They have horns and a tail and usually uncommon skin and eye colors. Bill's is completely black with yellow markings on his horns and a few on his tail, and just like. Dragon-esque tail. He also has central heterochromia, black and blue


	3. Lost in Places the Sun Shines

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hollow and Kin are having a hard time, Ghost turns Bill against the Sun, and Hornet is trying not to web these . . . things up

Hollow feels something hit their metal shoulder, and they instinctively curl around their siblings. They try to keep Kin closest to their chest, the smallest of their family already so broken. They crash into dirt, and open their eyes to check their siblings. Kin is holding onto their jacket, while Ghost and Hornet look more ruffled than scared. Standing to their full height, Hollow keeps Kin close while drawing their nail into a defensive position. Across the hole that leads to home are three strange beings. One looks like a more solid shade ~~did they fail this one too?~~ and two things in clothing. They feel Kin shuffle, and look up. And scream.

The three creatures across from them recoil in fear, while dread fills Hollow's soul. The beauty was not here. It was . . . bright ~~do not scream do not think just be good Infection kill pain scream kill kill KILL~~. With a smooth motion, Hollow takes off their jacket and gently hides Kin underneath it. They bump the littler's shell and tap it gently. _I will take care of it_ they sign _stay here for now_. Ghost stands by Hollow, and Hornet sits next to Kin to help calm them. The two eldest Vessels nod at each other and speed across the hole using their SOUL. Hollow takes the two foreign creatures, while Ghost takes the maybe-shade.

They tackled the two things to the ground, keeping them down with a leg. _How dare you hurt my siblings_ they sign, trying to keep their anger down. _You are very lucky I am of sound mind now-_

"What are you doing with your hands?" The one with the brighter clothes asks, and Hollow takes a moment to realize these two don't know sign. How aggravating. They look at Ghost, and see that they and the void-esque creature are . . . flipping off the Radiance. They join in on it while keeping the other two down, and chirp to signal that Hornet needs to get here. She's the only one who can speak amongst them, which is going to be more than helpful now. 

Hornet swings over with Kin in four of her arms, as she had now grown all four. Ah what a time that was. Six needles!

"What is it Hollow? What have they done?" Hornet asks, keeping Kin close. _Not know sign_. "Ah. See if you can find a bench? Or a spring? Kin needs to rest and regain their SOUL." Hollow nods and looks at Kin.

 _Can you walk if you keep my jacket on, sibling?_ they ask, and Kin nods, standing beside the eldest and keeping the jacket close around their shell. The two walk into the forest to find a place to rest, Hollow using their nail to keep track. They doubt that Cornifer and Iselda would be here, after all.

-

Bill watches with mild horror as the figure gets up and separates into four, and one of them shrieks. They feel waves of pure energy and fear wash through them and recoils backwards. What the hell just came out of the pit?

And that's when the tallest one tackles the twins to the ground, and one of the medium figures pins him down. As he looks at the thing, he can feel the well-hidden power hidden underneath its skin. It's almost scary, a fine black cloak, inky black skin like his own, and a white head mask where you can't see its eyes. And upon its back, a shining metal not-sword. He casts _message_.

 _What have we done to you?_ He asks, and to his surprise, it answers in sign language. 

_You hurt my family and brought Her back_. At the mention of Her, Bill can feel the magic spike from its body. _Why would you bring her back after she destroyed so much? After she caused thousands of bugs to die painful deaths?_

 _Who is she?_ Bill is almost afraid to ask, and the thing points at the _sun_. 

_Radiance. I thought I killed her. I thought I ended the Infection she brought._

Laughter bubbles out of Bill's chest. "You sure did." He feels the words spill from him. "That's only her body, it's all that remains of her now."

The thing stands up to full height, being about as tall as the typical thirteen year old. And flip of the sun. Bill joins, of course. Flipping off celestial bodies? Sounds fun.

There's a chirping noise, and Bill jumps to see the last two of the figures _swing_ over the pit on _spider silk_. The small thing is wrapped in what looks like a white jacket with some kind of spikes on it. The figure in red says something, and the tall one and small one walk off. 

The thing gestures for Bill to follow, and sees that the one in red has started to web up the twin's feet. "Hey! Stop! Don't eat them!" He runs towards her, and she _soars_ above him and lands next to the thing.

"Little Ghost, are they . . . did one manage to escape? Escape all of it?" The one in red asks the thing, Little Ghost he's guessing. 

Little Ghost shrugs. _Were you thrown into a literal pit of the corpses of your siblings and the bodies of those who haven't yet died when you were born or no?_

"What?! No!" Bill yells. Seriously, what the _hell_ is going on?

"Bill, what did he say?" Dipper asks, and before Bill can respond, the one in red's _giant needle_ lands in between their heads with a "Shaw!"

Bill readies his magic to protect them as the one in red speaks. "You will never refer to my siblings as anything but 'they' or 'it'. Do you understand me?" All of them nod, and Ghost looks uncomfortable. Not from the one in red's actions, but rather Dipper's. Ghost turns the one in red to talk to her- them?- privately. While that happens, Bill rips the silk binding his friends into shreds.

"Okay you two, here's what I've got about these . . . things. There was something with the _sun_ that caused a disease and also these are the last of their family. I think. And the one here who can't talk is insanely powerful. And I think there was something about bugs? Got all that?" Bill explains to them, and they nod. 

"We need to take them to Ford, he can-" Before Mabel can finish her sentence, the tall one comes back. Bill hadn't noticed the first time (probably because they were _attacking his friends_ ), but this one's head mask has a large crack in it. He can't read what they're signing, but he gets _bench_ and _kin_ and _sleeping_ and _home_. The three humanoids stay silent, as the three things discuss amongst themselves. Ghost holds out their hands, and Hollow places a large bag in it, and jumps back into the pit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters??? Never!!! anyways this one is longer :) If you ever have questions just ask me :)


	4. Souls of the Damned Rejoice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The two groups have a little discussion, and some have more questions than answers

Hornet watches as Hollow leaps back into the pit that leads home, and almost cries in anguish as they reemerge from the woods.  _ The Troupe. They moved and . . .  _ Hollow’s hands trail off, Hornet filling in the gaps. Grimm moved the Troupe up, and nothing was going to come down upon them. They have to wait until the Trope leaves.

Ghost releases Grimmchild, and the child of fire screams into the pit in anger. It’s times like this that Hornet is glad that the infernal thing exists. Even if it  _ did _ burn most of her thread when they first met. 

Grimmchild, feeling better after a good scream (as per always), chirps like usual and turns upon the two mysterious beings and the not-void creature. Hornet sees that the Child wants to burn them, they are unknown and thus  _ enemies _ . But Ghost gently closes their mouth and shakes their head. He cannot burn them. Not yet. 

“So . . .” Hornet starts, looking between them all. "You are not a child thrown into the Abyss."

The two similar looking creatures look at each other and then the void-creature in confusion. “The abyss?” The one with the hat asks. “What are you talking about?”

“It’s where all of my siblings came from, the prison in which they were born.” Hornet barely manages no to hiss. “The place they no longer have to be.”

_ A place we shall enter no longer. _ Hollow signs, and Hornet shivers at the line. But now is not the time, not the time to think about the mistakes of children and the follies of kingdoms.

“Yeah, definitely not  one of your siblings.” The not-void creature says smoothly. “I am the devil’s spawn, the blood of a demon runs in my veins and his power through my core.” They smile, and Hornet almost steps back. If this one’s father is truly a Higher Being, then . . . she looks back at Ghost and Hollow, allowing herself but a moment to think of their father. No. She shall think of ghosts no longer. 

“Then what are you?” She asks carefully. The creature squares themself.

“A tiefling, and my friends are humans. Now, what are you?” They respond, eyes narrowing at the small family. “And who screamed?”

Hornet looks at her siblings, who nod. She can speak for them, for now. “We are the living children of the Pale King. My mother is Herrah the Beast, Queen of the Weavers. And my siblings are vessels, their mother the Pale Lady. It was Kin who screamed, the fall frightened them.” She explains with minimal detail. They do not need to know the trials they’ve been through.

“And this infection from the sun?”

Hornet almost curses at that. Ghost cannot resist the urge to turn strangers against the one who hurt them. “We do not speak about that.”

“Will those two ever take off their helmets?” The ‘human’ without a hat asks. “It’s a little freaky if you ask me.” The one with the hat nods. “I mean, that one needs theirs fixed.” They point to Hollow, who’s void-made hand ghosts over the crack. Hornet can feel that they want to cry out as phantom pains start to rise. It seems the tiefling can too, as they recoil slightly. They are lucky Ghost has not found a reason to scream yet.

_ NO! _ Ghost signs.  _ No shades! No shades! _ It seems the tiefling can read sign (how wonderful) and is confused at that too. But now is not the time.

Grimmchild chirps again, and Hornet sees that the light has faded and the world seems darker. Kin wanders back into the clearing, their hood up over their mask.  _ Is the beauty coming soon, Hollow? _ They sign, and Hollow shrugs. 

“You mean the stars?” The one with the hat asks, and Kin jumps slightly. Grimmchild hisses at the humans and flies higher, chirping and hissing until Ghost puts them away. 

“Oh.” The tiefling blinks. “You came up here to see the stars.”

All of them stand silently amongst each other, not saying a word.

“Uh, I’m Bill.” The tiefling, Bill, breaks the silence. “The kid with the hat is Dipper, and the other one is his twin, Mabel.” Both of them wave slightly, still wary of the other group. 

Hornet almost sighs with relief. She was tensing for a battle, thinking they were preparing to attack. “I’m Hornet, and this is Hollow, Lost Kin, and Little Ghost.” She gestures to her siblings as their names are said. Kin tugs on her dress slightly, signing  _ food _ . 

“Are you hungry?” Bill asks, and Kin looks confused. Of all of them, Kin is the best at telling when mealtimes are, as the rest of them often forget (especially Hornet, who needs it far more than them). They probably felt that it was time for food. 

So Hornet shrugs. “No, but it is time to eat, if Kin says it is.” They nod. “I shall be back with food.”

With that said, she throws her needle and disappears into the forest.


	5. Lost Minds and Lost Hearts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The beginning of a night by fire. TW: minor blood and violence to a carcass

Dipper is confused as  _ hell _ . They just met a new monster (vessels?), and all of them are . . . strange. They are all children of someone called the pale king (weird name), and the ones with the horns coming from their masks apparently grew up in a prison called the abyss. How mysterious. 

He needs to take them to meet Ford. Ford can, after all, help fill in the blanks. Why Bill said they are powerful, what the difference between the siblings and the sister are. What their clothes are made of (it’s not any fabric  _ he  _ recognizes). There’s so much to learn about them. 

And apparently they all are mute. And Bill is the only one who can read sign language of the three of them (he should add that to languages to learn).

The six of them sit in complete silence. Dipper knows that they need to get home soon; however, these creatures are intriguing. Surely the Stans would be okay with them staying out tonight. After all, Bill is here, and if anything gets out of hand, the three of them will be okay (between the grappling hook, the magic, and the competency).

The three friends sit in silence as the three vessels sign amongst each other. “I wish they wouldn’t shroud themselves in mystery so much, y’know?” Dipper whispers, and Mabel nods.

“And yet you live and work at the  _ Mystery _ Shack.” Bill laughs a little.

Dipper huffs, crossing his arms. “That’s different.”

Mabel giggles, adding “Yeah, the mystery is how Grunkle Stan hasn’t been arrested yet.”

Dipper joins in the two’s mirth after that. “I think the real mystery is how  _ Ford _ hasn’t been arrested yet!”

Bill is howling on the ground and Mabel’s face turns red as she goes from giggles to complete air-depriving laughter. “He-He literally has illegal dice!” She gasps, trying to hold onto the recovering Bill and ultimately dragging both of them down. And now Dipper can’t breathe either. 

_ What is happening? _ Hollow signs, and Ghost shrugs. Kin blinks, looking at the writhing group, but decides that getting something to burn is a better option than dealing with them. 

By the time the group calms down to the point they can stand  _ and _ breathe, Kin has made a sizable pile of what is probably wood. It’s honestly too dark to tell right now.

Bill walks over to the small vessel, who freezes and doesn’t move. “I can help you with that.” He touches one of the pieces of wood (it feels like wood), and lights it on fire. Grimmchild, who had come out to light the pile, hisses at Bill for taking  _ their _ job! It lights the fire! He helps with the cooking!

Kin waves a void made finger at Grimmchild, and Bill can guess that if they could, they would be ‘tsk’ing at the . . . vampire bat thing?

Mabel claps at Bill using such a simple spell (as always, not that he’s complaining), and Grimmchild droops. Kin holds up a still-unlit piece of wood, and Grimmchild chirps as they spit a  _ ball of fire _ and light the wood. Ghost, who has a lantern full of something, is signing and trying to get Grimmchild to  _ get back here no lighting the creatures on fire _ . 

“What . . . what is that, exactly?” Dipper asks, pointing to Grimmchild. They all shrug. 

_ Child of a Higher Being I think _ . Ghost signs.  _ Parents are jerks. Well, parent. Nightmare Heart was so mean. _

_ You speak as if Grimmchild is any better than the Grimms. _ Hollow responds, but then thinks for a moment.  _ Well, at least they don’t explode me into fire for getting back home. _

Grimmchild chirps at that. Dipper looks at Bill in confusion, and he translates. “The child of a higher being, whatever those are. And apparently one or both of them are mean?” He ends questioningly, as, once again, the group ends up being cryptic as Hell. And he’s been to Hell.

The other one, Hornet, returns with . . . an entire deer. She’s dragging it behind her, and when she gets to the fire, she, Ghost, and Hollow take their not-swords and rip the deer into pieces and inspect them. 

“You, human with the hat.” She points one finger at Dipper. “Are there any toxins in this thing?”

Dipper looks at the creature with, again, increasing confusion.

“No, but what are you doing?!” Mabel looks conflicted at seeing such an innocent creature being ripped apart.

To everyone’s surprise, the vessels’ eye holes  _ narrow _ in confusion. Hornet, on the other hand, brings out an extra four hands, which are placed on her sides. “Trying to figure out how to eat this creature. Do you humans not- get away from the food!” She turns and snaps at Bill, who was, until that moment, methodically removing its teeth. And in response, he bares his teeth and waves a hand over the carcass. 

With a quick tug, he removes all the teeth and walks to a tree and starts to clean the blood off of them. His tail flicks back and forth as Hornet sighs, takes one of the pieces of deer and lifts her mask to eat some. Mabel gets a glimpse of spider-like mandibles and shivers. When did this turn into a nightmare?


	6. Spirits of Flame, Cry Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ford and Stan make an appearance, and Kin steps up

Mabel wakes up to find the ash of a burned-out fire next to her, and on the other side her brother. Bill is across the ashes, curled up into a ball. The creatures are nowhere to be found, maybe they went to the place they took Lost Kin. She stands up, stretching a little, and looks at the sky. Last night was a little bit of a blur for her, after the whole deer thing. She does remember all of them staring at the stars for a long time, and it made her heart hurt a little. They were deprived the beauty of the sky!

"Mabel! Dipper!" Ford's voice yells through the forest.

"Kids!" Stan's rough one follows soon after. Mabel smiles at that, he still calls them kids. Her grunkles are here.

"Over here!" She yells back, Dipper and Bill groaning. Bill curls closer into himself, while Dipper sits up and rubs his eyes.

"Where did the vessels go?" He asks, and Mabel shrugs and points to where Lost Kin and Hollow had went shortly after them meeting. Dipper nods and stretches. "Get Bill up, yeah?"

Mabel nods again, squatting next to Bill and poking his forehead. "Wake up wake up wake up wake up-" She chants before Bill puts a hand on her face and gives a very tired "shhhhhh"

The Stans walk through the trees as Bill starts to come to. Ford looks around, and his eyes land on the group. "Hey!" He calls, running towards the younger twins. "Are you okay? You didn't come home last night."

Dipper shrugs. "We met some things." He says, Bill piping up. "They gave us dinner of deer!"

Mable shakes her head. "They probably went into the forest to find a place to sleep, but they made a fire and actually are pretty cool." She smiles. "C'mon Grunkle Stans! I wanna make sure they're okay." Dipper nods in agreement, while Bill does nothing. He probably is still a little off put by the apparently insanely strong one. 

Ford sighs, fixing his glasses. "Okay."

Stan does a pose and marches into the woods. "Let's go kids!" He calls, Dipper yelling back "We're almost 20 Grunkle Stan!"

Mable giggles a little. "Wrong way Grunkle Stan." She walks towards where Hollow and Lost Kin went earlier. Stan groans, and the group is off. 

They actually find a hot spring pretty fast. There's a rusted metal bench where Hornet is sleeping. The rest of the small family are sleeping in the spring. All except the smallest, Lost Kin. Their hood is down, revealing a large and jagged hole in their mask revealing. . . nothing. Just inky blackness.

Bill steps forwards, ready to translate, but Ford gets in front of him. "What are you?" He calls out, and Lost Kin jumps high out of the water and lands in front of the group, shushing them with a finger. They start signing, and Bill steps forwards and says "They want you to be quiet. Their family fell asleep a little bit ago, the sun scared them again."

Ford blinks. "The sun? It's just a celestial body, a large ball of combusting gases. How is it-?" He's cut off by Mabel.

"The sun hurt them Grunkle Ford." She says. Ford nods, face showing confusion. Bill signs to Lost Kin, probably asking something he doesn't want to be known to the group. Nodding, he looks at everyone.

"They said I could explain. They are vessels, children of the Pale King and the White Lady, and that one is a child of the Pale King and Herrah. The vessels were born in the Abyss, an apparent prison, where all their siblings except these ones died, as far as they know. They live inside the pit, and flew out to see the stars, but instead came out during the day and I hit them with a tree because I thought they were a monster. This one is Lost Kin, the tall one is Hollow, and the other one is Little Ghost. The one on the bench is Hornet. And that's about all we know." Bill finishes, and Lost Kin nods. They sign again. "Oh, and the vessels don't talk."

The Stans nod. Stan crouches down to look at Kin. "Why the fuck you got a hole in your head?" He asks, and Lost Kin shifts into a defensive position. While, unlike their siblings, they don't have a not-sword, they do seem ready to fight anything. They sign again

"Don't touch their siblings or they'll prove why they are a Champion of the Fools." Bill translates, shrugging. It's then that a Gremloblin comes crashing through, roaring.

Before anyone can do anything, Lost Kin once again jumps, much much higher than should be possible, and shoots down faster than possible. They pass through the Gremloblin and lands behind it, the creature screaming and running back into the woods, blood trailing behind it. Lost Kin shakes a little, stilling as a white aura gently covers them and the shaking stops. They still stumble a little, their family waking up and seeing them.

"What did you do?" Hornet hisses. "Why did you bring more humans?"

Bill puts up his hands. "A Gremloblin came and they scared it away somehow." He says quickly, and Hornet looks at Lost Kin, who is trying to calm down their siblings.

If she could, she probably would be smiling. "Is that so? Maybe taking them to the Snail Shaman wouldn't be so bad . . ." She trails off. "Anyways. Who are you two? Actually, what are all of your names?" She realizes she really doesn't know these people. That scares her, just a little. 

Bill is mock offended, placing a hand to his chest. "You haven't heard of me? Bill? Bill Cipher? How ludicrous!" He scoffs, and Dipper lightly smacks the back of his head.

"Shut up bone brain. I'm Dipper, and-" He gestures to Mabel, who does a fun pose. "I'm Mabel! We're the Pine Twins!" She smiles widely before pointing to her Grunkles. "This is Stanford and Stanley, but we call them Ford and Stan!"

Hornet nods, looking once again back at her siblings. "I am . . . glad that you have been so kind to us. It's not what we were . . . expecting. Especially not by those who are exposed to the sun." Ford tries to ask about why they hate the sun so much, but she ignores him, reaching into a pocket and taking out a large cloak and pinning it on. She walks to Lost Kin, wrapping them in it and probably saying something. The family of Pines (and Bill) watch the small family interact. For Ford, Dipper, and Mabel, their curiosity grows; albeit, for different things. Stan is just going with it, as he usually does. And Bill is lost. From what he's heard, their dad is just as much of an ass as his own, and they seem so close. He almost wonders if he could have that, if only it wasn't for his damn tail and horns. If only he wasn't a mistake. If only, 

If only . . .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope y'all's are enjoying this. I like writing this, honestly. Also, do you like the direction I use for Bill? I just love his character and wanted to integrate him in an interesting way.


	7. Pale Fires, Burn Down These Walls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hollow and Bill talk while Ford manages to get Hornet to talk

Ford, Hornet, and Hollow sit by the spring waters while the rest of the group plays a game. Ford has been trying to get either of the two creatures to tell him _anything_ about where they've come from, and all he has to show for it is names. Hallownest, the main kingdom, with many sub-sections, and Deepnest, the kingdom of weavers, but not much else.

He sighs. "Look, you want to be all mysterious? Fine. But we can't trust or help you if we know nothing about you!" He tries to explain, almost pleading. Hornet looks at her sibling, who signs something to her, and she sighs.

"Fine. Ask your questions, but we reserve the right to not answer any, fair?" She holds out a hand. Ford nods, nervously shaking her hand. There's no fire, and a feeling of relief comes over his body. Hornet shuffles in the dirt so she can see both Hollow and Ford, probably preparing to translate.

Ford busies his hands as he tries to think of questions made of words. "Well, um, let's start with if any of you have magical powers." He decides to ask. Hornet shakes her head. 

"I don't. My siblings do, to an extent. Many of Ghost's come from their charms, but any SOUL magic is their own. Kin and Hollow just learned how to focus SOUL, right?" She looks at her sibling, who signs. "Ah, yeah, Kin also can dash through creatures if they're high enough. Hollow focuses more on their nail art than magic."

Ford almost sighs, having even more questions. He instead pockets the ones that have arisen and asks his next question. "And who lives in Hallownest?"

Hollow signs to answer this one. 

"Bugs of all shapes and sizes. The biggest ones are the stag beetles of the Stagways, gentle creatures." Hornet translates. "And in the case of Greenpath, Unn and her people, which the Pale Lady quickly took over."

As Hollow signs the last sentence, their eyes narrow and their signs more rigid than fluid. Ford nods, wishing he had brought a journal to write all of this down. The questions continue, and answers continue. There's still many holes, they didn't answer most of his questions, but at least some were. So now Ford can start to plan and research these mysterious creatures further.

-

Bill is seething inside. He _hates_ Uno, for good reason. He's not good at making any kind of strategy and always ends games with 10 or more cards. When Hornet and Ford sit down to join, Bill stands up.

"Sorry, but gotta duck out this last time." He smiles. Everyone nods, and he sits next to Hollow, who's playing with the surface of the water.

It's still, and not in a good way. He _hates_ it. It's too fucking _quiet_. So he does what he does best, he talks. 

He's mostly talking about nothing, but it somehow leads to Weirdmageddon, and _that_ leads to a small (not small) rant about good-ol-dad, which turns into . . . into . . . where is he? Oh, right-

There's snapping, and Bill looks up from his monologue to see Hollow looking at him with curious eyes (somehow), and a metal arm in front of them. Bill hadn't noticed the arm before, it's a silvery-white color, and the fingers and edges of the arm look razor sharp. _Being in your head for so long is bad._ They sign, and Bill laughs.

"Yeah, sure buddy." He smirks, and Hollow's shoulders move like they're sighing.

 _I would know. You can lose yourself if you get lost up there._ They gently tap Bill's skull. _Especially if you let parents live in there_.

Bill pushes away Hollow's hand. "Trust me, that bastard isn't getting up here." He says with a confidence that doesn't fill his heart. 

Hollow looks at Bill, almost analyzing him. Bill feels like his skin is going to come off (he's curious how that would feel). Finally, they sign again.

 _Look at me. My arm, this scar on my mask,_ They gesture to the large crack in their mask, _This was because of my father._ Bill shivers a little. _He did horrible things to me and my siblings, but I still found a seed of wanting his approval. The sins of our fathers may mark our backs, but they do not mark our futures. Not anymore._

Bill wants to laugh at that. He almost does, but instead he asks one question. "How . . . how did he cause those?"

Hollow stares into nothingness for a while, and Bill expects no answer as the minutes pass by slowly. And finally, finally, Hollow responds.

_He had me face the Sun alone._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I hope you enjoy! As always, if you have any questions, ask me :) I'll be willing to answer any!


	8. Scars of the Fathers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ghost gets angry, Hornet takes the twins away, Bill wants to disappear, and Kin wants to go home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW for light mentions of tiefling racism and genocide

The Stans, the Pines twins, and Bill lead the family out of the woods to Gravity Falls. The group is silent, for the most part. Kin is sitting on Hollow's shoulders, occasionally taking leaves from tree branches. The humans, on the other hand, are chatting as they usually do. Poking fun at one another, telling jokes and stories, things like that. It's funny, the dichotomy of the two families. One is loud and boisterous, full of energy and happiness and excitement; a group made of bright colors. The other is silent and reserved, a more quiet energy surrounding them, and the only source of brightness being Hollow's jacket. And between them is Bill Cipher, who, depending on who he talks to, matches their respective energy. He vaguely remembers Mabel once telling him that he's a Gemini, even though he doesn't even know the day he was born. Only what he was born as, what he is. 

They step out of the woods, the morning sun gently laying above the mountains. Kin flips their hood up, curling close to Hollow as a pillar of safety. The Mystery Shack sits before them, in all its glory. 

"So, if you want, you can stay in the basement." Ford says, and Bill bristles.

"And what, experiment on them when they sleep?" He spits out, stopping in his tracks.

Ford sighs. "Cipher-"

"That's my _father_ " Bill hisses. "Not me."

"Fine, _Bill_." He relents. "It was a mistake."

Bill scoffs, turning away from Ford. "Sure, whatever."

Hornet looks between the two. "What do you mean, experiment?" She asks with an air of caution.

Ford opens his mouth to explain, but Bill cuts him off. "If it's anything like he did to me, you sleep in the basement and wake up tied up with wires hooked up _everywhere,_ and rune circles surrounding you."

Ford glares at Bill, who is refusing to look at the six fingered man. "And you trying to kill me is any better?"

"You have _no right_." Bill spins on his heel and shrieks. " _No right_ to talk about that day!"

"Oh, I think I do, considering I almost _died_."

Bill's eyes narrow and his pupils slit. His tail flicks back and forth, trying to keep calm. "How am I supposed to believe you wouldn't have killed me on sight like other tieflings had been that day?"

Hornet's had enough, jumping above Ford and releasing a barrage of silk, binding him and Stan together in a strong web. She lands in front of them, needle out and ready to attack. Ford struggles to get out, while Stan complains that he didn't even know anything even _happened._

Hornet is about to say something when Ghost puts a hand on her shoulder. He signs something to her, and she nods, stepping aside.

"What are you doing?" Ford asks as Ghost walks around in a circle. And they find what they were looking for.

Ghost jumps up, and charges down, punching a hole in the ground. Hornet stands away from the edge, waiting for something, when a shriek of a thousand voices comes ringing out, causing the earth to shake around it. Ghost jumps out, silvery wings folding back into the folds of their cloak, and Hornet drags the Stans into the hole.

Bill is facing the sun, trying to burn his retinas, but nothing is working. He screams, slamming the ground with his fists as he tries to keep back tears. He hasn't cried in years, he won't now. Kin walks up to him, head tilted. 

"Go away" Bill pleads. "please."

Kin sits in front of Bill. 

_Many homes in Dirtmouth and Greenpath._ They sign. _If you want_.

They stand up, and walk back to the group, sitting down by the hole, waiting for their sister to return

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyyyyyyyy anyways yeah :) hope yall enjoy and as always i can answer any questions yall has


	9. Dead Innocents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bill recounts the day the tieflings died, and Hollow tells of the day they escaped Hell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a hot second, huh? Anyways, enjoy!

Mabel and Dipper are freaking the hell out. Their grunkles got put into a giant hole, wrapped inwebbing, by a _spider thing_. "What the hell?" Dipper breathes, crouching down and holding his head in his hands. Mabel looks at the Vessels that are simply standing and looking unperturbed. " 

“Are the Stans dead?” Bill whispers to Kin as the younger twins try to figure out what to do, who blinks, looks down the hole, and shrugs.

Mabel sighs. “That’s not helpful, what is she going to do to them?”

_If it’s anything like my experience, lightly stab them and hit them with sharp silk._ Ghost signs, Bill translating.

Dipper stares at Ghost with mild horror. “And that was _fine_ with you?!”

_It's better than what happened to our siblings._ Hollow signs, and Ghost nods. 

_Kin and I don't remember much, but we do remember how cold and lonely it was._ Ghost adds on.

Bill tilts his head. "What do you mean?" Dipper asks what they said, but Bill waves him off. 

_The Pale King, our father, and the White Lady, our mother, threw us into the Abyss before we hatched from our eggs. Thousands of us._ Hollow starts. _We were not born of love, but of necessity. We are Vessels, beings of the Void, creatures not meant to be anything but puppets. Made to house the source of the Infection and save Hallownest._

Bill shivers, the thought of thousands of children being nothing but tools striking a particularly sensitive nerve. Ghost looks at him questioningly, but does nothing to let Hollow continue.

_The way we were tested to be truly Pure, to be truly empty, was to rise above and through the Abyss and exit the Hell we were born in. Only two made it to the top. Only one left._ Hollow looks at Ghost, seemingly about to tell them something, but Ghost shakes their head, and Hollow nods. _I was the one who exited through the door. And I left my siblings behind to die, leaving behind nothing but angry shades._

Bill nods, looking back at the Pines twins for a moment.

"People . . . People typically don't like my kind. Tieflings, I mean." He starts, tail flicking a little. "Our blood is mixed with that of demons, and because of that, we usually aren't welcome most places. A few years ago, my ancestor-"

"You mean your dad." Mabel puts in, Bill's face darkening at the word.

"My _ancestor,_ " he insists, "Tried to take over the world. It took my name and laid claim to any tieflings it met. It caused so much fear and pain that when he was finally defeated, many places, they . . ." Bill trails off, the markings on his horns glowing a light green color. "They tortured and killed hundreds of tieflings. There weren't many of us to begin with, a little over a thousand if I remember right. And now? There's less than fifty. We've been put on the endangered species list like _animals_." Bill spits out, the ground around him shaking a bit. He takes a breath and the shaking goes away. 

"But you're one of the good ones." Mabel tries to squeak out, and Bill spins with fury in his eyes.

**_"The good ones?!"_** He screams in Infernal _**"Who decided that all tieflings are inherently evil?! We have nowhere else to turn but the corrupt because of people like you."**_

Dipper steps in front of Mabel. "You're scaring her, man! Cut it out!" He yells. Bill squares his feet and his face goes stoney.

From his back a pair of black leather wings unfurl, and Dipper's face blanches. "Wh-when-" He stutters, but doesn't get to finish as the powerful wings flap upwards and the tiefling disappears into the sky. 

And when the dust settles, Ghost sees that Kin is nowhere to be found.


End file.
